Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, when Mayan died a year and a half ago, I didn't think I'd ever have another green iguana. Having made that decision we took in a second Cyclura hybrid in April. Then, yesterday, these two babies dropped unexpectedly into my lap. They are in a very temporary set up because this was unplanned. But, having raised a hatchling green ig to a beautiful adult as well raising Cyclura, I'm not a novice to iggies. I know they need to be separated, but right now they are tiny hatchlings and okay. I'm trying to move them as little as possible to keep from stressing them out. I'm not sure if we'll keep both of them or only one of them or what, but I had to get them off of their lettuce diet and under a Mega-ray. As soon as they calm down a bit I'll move them and also take them to see our reptile vet.

they are stunning, who produced them?

I have no idea. They ended up in my local pet store. They look like real axanthics to me though so I bought them both. It was unexpected, but my dh didn't kill me! LOL They are in a very temporary tank right now until we get them set up. Right now, I'm hesitant to move them because they are really stressed out. The pet store just got them on Saturday and I bought them on Sunday so they've shipped around. Since the tank they are in is at least as large as the one they were in in the store, I'm thinking it might be best to leave them a week and then get them into larger separate enclosures.

However, today it looked like one of them might have already been stopping the other from basking. If that is the case I'll get them separated tomorrow. I only have one extra Mega Ray though so I need to figure out something fast!

Those look alot like the "Blue" iguanas that were selling very popularly back in the 90's. I hope that they maintain that color for you after a shed or two -- mine did not.

Were the blue diamond's that blue? I thought only the heads were blue on those and they also had some green?

i am not an expert here at all but my understanding is that there are some green iguanas that are born blue and turn color about a year or so to green. However there are also blue morphs that will keep their blue or turquoise color. these of course would be considered much rarer and i think it depends on where the originated from. I have some that are bright turquoise and have seen some even close to navy blue. no green at all and if they turn green it is under certain lamps.

Is there any way to tell if they'll turn or not? Blue is such a difficult color to photograph, but this is my bluer of the two. The only greenish color at all is skin that hasn't shed. Ironically, this was the less blue of the two, and not the one I would have gotten at the time if I'd only been able to take one. The one that was more blue is now all greenish, but it also hasn't shed yet. These were taken without a flash. With the over exposed flash shot the black lines in the dewlap appear navy blue.

See the previous post. I apologize for misspelling ageber as agebar.

ReallySusan

I dont really know if there is a way to tell if they will turn or not but here is one of mine and it is alot older. the smaller ones look just like this one. Looking at the ones i have, i dont think these will turn green. yours looks very similar. i think you got the real thing but i am not an expert at all.

another pic

They are beautiful and your enclosures are amazing. I've seen your youtube videos.

So, how old were yours when you got them? You got yours from Tom, right?

I had five back in the mid 90's , they were just called, "blue" iguanas. They were subadults, and they looked like yours for a few months. By the end of 1 year, they all looked like normal green iguanas. Never did learn how the wholesalers make them look so blue, It was a successful tactic to sell more iguanas.

http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/skincolor.html

So yours were that blue for that long? I'd read all of that and seen pictures of the "blue diamond" iguanas. But I'd never seen, outside of pictures of Tom's iguanas, anything this blue, even on the bellies. So, you think that even though their bellies are blue, that they will likely turn green?

I've had a few offers for them. I'm going to hang on to both of them for now, at least until I know their genders. I'm thinking about having them DNA sexed. My vet will do it for $62 each, or there is a place called Zoogen that will do it for $25, but I'd have to get a blood sample from a toenail.

hi
not all mine came from tom. i was very fortunate to find some overseas and import them. wish i had money for more. thanks for the compliments on my animals and cages. mine were anywhere from a few weeks to a year or so. colors held nicely as you can see in the pic i posted before.

i dont think i would draw blood from a baby just to sex them. whats the difference really, worse case you sell one or trade with someone who has the opposite sex

I don't see a picture...?

My biggest concern is keeping males far away enough from each other that they don't get upset. I have one male Cyclura and am concerned that if I have one or more male greens I won't be able to keep them far enough apart from each other, especially during the colder months. I'm trying to convince my husband that my iguanas need a bigger house....

Good point on the blood test.

So, do yours go from dark to light turquoise the same way that greens go from dark to light green. I had them outside today and the got a dark beautiful turquoise. Now that they are inside they are a more aqua color.

yes, depending on the lighting they appear anywhere from a nice light turquoise to a deep blue and if the light inside the cages has yellow to it they appear green. I do have one that appears deep turquoise all the time no matter what the lighting is.

The one that appears deep turquoise all the time, is that the one you got from Tom?

How old are all of yours now?

post a picture of the bellies, if they are "true" blues, which we have 3 of, then we can tell if they are the true blue and not the "blue diamond" which is not blue except for a little on the face and upper torso. Your look the real deal, if so send them my way

what is the difference of the blue diamond iguanas. the ones from petco all have turquoise bellies. some have some white striping as well. i also have 2 real true blues and looking at the underside of the petco ones and mine, they are very similar. I have one (not from petco) and it is almost always some form of blue or turquoise regardless of lighting. i believe it is about a year old or close to it.

Mine have blue bellies. I'll try to post a picture as soon as they shed. The unshed skin is brownish so it makes the iggy look green. However the skin under the shed is vivid turquoise or aqua, depending on their temps or mood. They are striking. Right now, however, they have parasites (the vet thinks it is the stress of the double moves, first to Petco and then to my house). She said, however, that she has never seen iggies this color.

i am by no means an expert or probably even qualified to take an educated guess on this but, i would like to believe that these with the blue or turquoise stomachs and the blue or turquoise bodys will continue to look blue or turquoise as they age much the same as my others.

I think you and anyone else that was lucky enough to get these from petco, got a great deal is all.

The oldest true blue that I know of is Tom's breeder male, who is really a sexually mature sub-adult rather than a true full sized iggy. He is strikingly turquoise. However, when my late green, Mayan, was that age, he was also still vibrant green and people used to comment on how green he was for his size. When he got to be about six or seven, he finally changed. He was still a striking iguana, with a lot of green but he was no longer that vivid green of a juvenille.

As far as I know, no one has seen what one of Tom's will look like as a full adult, right?

Do you have the Hatfield book (The Ultimate Owner's Manual, by James Hatfield II)? In the back section with the color pictures, there is an iguana named Throckmorten. The caption reads "In the late '80s iguanas were imported into various countries from Peru. They had blue in their color pattern and were the talk of the town -- and they cost more. But most of these iguanas died from respiratory infection caused by improper shipping practices. Throckmorten lived to show how beautiful they can be."

Now, if you look at that picture there is some green but the head, tail, lets and spikes are very very blue.

I have seen pics of some adult blues which were very blue. they were taken for me at a iguana farm out of the US last year. As for whether they will keep their blue for years to come, who knows. i know that the blue version of the green iguana is not something you see everyday or at least, you didnt prior to petco and if they stay on the side of blue/turquoise then they are simply amazing looking animals.

i will have to find that book you mention

Petco did a special trial run to get people in the door by providing TRUE blue iguanas to certain locations.
Fluker farms sent each store one or two animals, for promotional purposes, and inthe next year or so will roll out to most petcos since it did so well.
By 2015 I heard they will do same with albinos,either way, they are limited edition animals, and not gonna replace regulars or reds anytime soon!

Either way I think they drove the price down a lot. With all these around, I think it's hilarious of the ads I see that say I have 10 left...$1,500 each. No that's a mark up! I would like to know who's going to pay that kind of money with no proof of what there adults look like?

I think the market will pay those prices or more in a number of months when they put some size on them and shed out staying blue a few times. While there are some of these that are blue, there are a good number i have seen that appear more green than blue. it may have something to do with heat, humidity, not sure what but definitly something.

I do think your right about the pricing now being affected based on what was not really available in the states to the market now having what would seem like an abundance of them. I don't think there were more than a hundred of them based on conversations I had with lots of people who bought them and the areas that petco had them in. thats like 3 clutches so still not a lot of them. I guess we may never know for sure. Either way if they do stay blue they will be a remarkable looking lizard, if not, they would be an expensive green iguana I guess.

One of mine is definitely more blue than the other, so part of it is genetic since I haven't separated them yet. However, I do notice that when they are outside they both get very blue (but again, one more than the other. They also get very blue when they are soaking. So, heat and humidity are a factor, but not the whole story with how blue these guys are staying.